Syncrobit Chameleon, Compute Module 4 with eMMC, onboard SX1302, Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit Trixie, and Meshpoint v0.7.4+.
- Hardware
- Syncrobit Chameleon
- Host
- Compute Module 4 · eMMC
- Flash path
- USB carrier + Raspberry Pi usbboot
- OS
- 64-bit Raspberry Pi OS Trixie Lite
- Status
- Native Meshtastic TX/RX validated
There is no hidden microSD slot.
The original miner image lives on the CM4's onboard eMMC. Replacing it means opening the Chameleon, removing the module, and putting it onto a carrier that exposes USB boot mode. I used a Waveshare CM4-IO-BASE-B; the official CM4 IO board serves the same purpose.
Before overwriting anything, save an image of the original eMMC if restoring the miner firmware might matter later.
Force USB boot, then expose the eMMC.
With the CM4 unpowered, fit the carrier's eMMC-disable or nRPIBOOT jumper. Connect the carrier's USB data port to the host, apply power, and run Raspberry Pi's rpiboot utility.
git clone --depth=1 https://github.com/raspberrypi/usbboot
cd usbboot
make
sudo ./rpibootOnce rpiboot finishes, the CM4 eMMC appears to the host like a removable drive. At that point Raspberry Pi Imager can write a normal 64-bit Lite image to it.
Put the module back before configuring the radio.
Remove power, clear the USB-boot jumper, reinstall the CM4 in the Chameleon carrier, connect the LoRa antenna, and boot from Ethernet or PoE. From there the software path is deliberately boring:
sudo bash ./scripts/install.sh
sudo meshpoint setup
meshpoint statusThe onboard SX1302 follows the normal concentrator path once the CM4 is back in its original carrier.
PoE makes shutdown behavior matter.
The Chameleon is attractive because many units already have a sealed enclosure, antenna, and PoE. It also means people are tempted to pull the cable. I use sudo poweroff first: a hard loss can leave the SX1302-class SPI bus latched until the unit is fully depowered.
The PoE source also needs enough headroom for the CM4 and concentrator-roughly the equivalent of 2-3 A at 5 V.